White Winter Traditional Brackett

White Winter Winery
Brewed at South Shore Brewery/Wilmarths Deepwater Grille
Style: Mead
Iron River, Wisconsin USA

Bottle. Dark amber with a large off white head. Lots of lacing. Sweet aroma of carmalized barley and hops. Thick palate. Flavor is a nice sweet start with a malty middle and a bitter sweet finish. This is by far the best mead I’ve ever had.

The Dan Journal #6. 12oz bottle. Beautiful deep dark amber hue. Bubbling from the bottom of the glass. Clinging white head. Aromas of mulled wine and honey. Vinuous and dark fruits. Blackberries and a lot of cooked cherries. Bready almost brownie aroma. A real beauty! A million taste sensations. Initially lively with a sweet cloying alcohol burn. Pruney flavors. Also notes of citrus orange and grapefruit. Bittersweet chocolate and a creamy cinnamon flavor. Sweet frothy finish. Dessert in a bottle. I haven’t had many meads, but this one blew me away. Much better than the rating!

I didn’t really get the honey aspect of this, but if someone had raved about this as a great dopplebock, I would agree with them. Pours a deep clear red-brown, with a little bit of sediment and an ongoing effervescence. A large, rocky tan head deposits ring after ring of lace. Aroma is decidedly vinous, with port-wine elements. Cider and caramel also present. Flavor is rich and malty, raisins dominate. Gets spicy and slightly fusel in the middle, but here that’s somehow not a flaw. Cloves, citrus zest detectable. Finishes somewhat dry. Medium bodied, very lively mouthfeel.

12oz. Bottle This is my first expierence with a braggot. I’m looking forward to it. Poured into a snifter after letting warm for about 10 minutes. A big billowy frothy head poked above the rim of my glass and very slowly faded leaving sticky lacing in its path. As the head faded it turned rocky and craggy. This all on top of a glowing slightly hazed amber body. Rising carbonation in streams from all over. After describing the appearence the head is still over 1 finger and staying put. The smell is very interesting and enjoyable. Wasn’t really all that sure what to expect. There is a subtle honey note thats soft and in the background. I’m picking up a little fruit that seems to be white grapes and occasionally even some oak. The honey adds a sweetness the more this one warms. Toward the end I pick up an earthiness reminiscent of damp soil and a mild hop spiciness. There is even some toffee in there. Seems like I get something different each time. Now after some time in the glass I’m picking up a lot of tart green apple. Complex. Nice. The flavor is very mellow. All the flavors seem to be in harmony with each other. Everything in the nose is detected at some point or another in the taste. Grapes and a mild honey sweetness go very nicely together. A subtle toffee flavor also goes really nicely with the earthiness. Spicy hops barely leave a tingle on the tongue. Finishes off with a toffee sweetness that lingers momentarily. All in all this is a subtle complex braggot. I really have to work to pull out all the different flavors but it is definately worth it. My only complaint is that the flavors just don’t last long enough. The mouthfeel really impresses me. This braggot enters your mouth in liquid form but somewhere between mid-palate and the finish it turns into some sort of sea foam. There is no sign of swallowing a liquid. I have never drank anything before that makes that abrupt of a transition. Somehow it does it very well. The only problem with the mouthfeel is that it pushes the flavors through a little faster than they should be. Otherwise it’s a pretty cool expierence. This is something I would only drink one at a time. It feels more along the lines of a special occasion libation. When I am drinking it it goes down very easy. This was a really nice surprise. If I see this again I will definately pick up some more. A good way to get my feet wet with braggot. This is much better than I expected with many complexities. I believe you could share this with beer and wine drinkers with good results. I believe I picked this up for $1.99 a bottle. 12/31/06

Hazy dark amber color with a smaller head of slightly rocky tan foam. Aroma of light wheat, rosemary, thyme and dry buckwheat honey. First sip, WOW, that intense! Definate, dry honey, flavors. Dry caramel covered with bitter nearly sour pear. Interesting, but the bomber is a bit much for one setting. This would go well paired with cheese and light fruit.

Name: Traditional Brackett
Date: 02/01/2006
Mode: Bottle
Source: Tasting

clear amber, whispy off white head, spicy sweet honey aroma, huge dry honey flavor followed by an assult of bitter floral hops, tons of spicy character,

Aroma: 7/10; Appearance: 5/10; Flavor: 8/10; Palate: 6/10; Overall: 16/20
Rating: 3.7/5.0
Drinkability: 7/10
Score: **4

sweet, burnt, malty aroma. amber with sufficient head... laces the glass nicely. tastes like...... a bitter apple core. sweetness up front, then a prolonged apple-seed-like bitterness which lingers in the mouth for quite some time. sort of unfair to compare this braggot to traditional, uncarbonated mead. its much better than the style percentile would indicate.

Clear dark golden bronze with a thin, lightly-lacing off-white head. Sweet toasty malty and floral dark honey aroma is very interesting. Body starts with a sweet sticky malt and honey balance toward a smooth, floral dark caramel and honey finish. Hides its alcohol well and is quite enjoyable.